EMAIL NOW TO SUPPORT AN $11.50/HOUR MINIMUM WAGE: You can email all nine Montgomery County Councilmembers and the office of the County Executive by sending a message to montgomerycounty@lockheedwelfare.com.Prince George's County Councilmembers are poised to pass a parallel $11.50 an hour wage rate this week, but not until Montgomery County acts on the effort. Please bear in mind that the $11.50 figure was established by a coalition of Councilmembers from MoCo, D.C. and Prince George's, and a deviation from that arrangement will throw unpredictability into the proposed regional minimum wage and potentially derail the effort. Below Maryland Juice provides numerous updates on the current state of play, including proposed alterations being suggested by County Executive Ike Leggett and action alerts from numerous advocacy groups.
$10.75 OR $11.10 MINIMUM WAGE RATE: Leggett's proposal purports to establish a minimum wage of $11.50 an hour or $1 over the state minimum wage -- whichever is lower. Leggett would also establish a floor of $10.75 an hour, which is the lower rate proposed by an amendment from Councilmember Hans Riemer. Given that the state is likely to consider a $10.10 minimum wage, it seems extremely unlikely that the MoCo wage will reach $11.50. The actual likely wage rate under this slightly convoluted plan is going to be between $10.75 and $11.10.
FIVE YEAR PHASE-IN PERIOD UNTIL 2018: The Elrich-Ervin-Navarro plan would phase-in an $11.50/hour rate by the year 2016, while the Leggett plan would phase in a maximum rate of between $10.75 and $11.10 by 2018.
EXEMPTION FOR PART-TIME EMPLOYEES 18 AND UNDER: The Leggett plan would also exclude the new minimum wage requirement for part-time employees age 18 and under. This position was also adopted by the members of the County Council's Health and Human Services Committee. Interestingly, Councilmember Riemer's Chief of Staff Adam Pagnucco posted the following comment about this exemption on Facebook:
ADAM PAGNUCCO: I am extremely upset that Nancy Navarro and the rest of the HHS Committee voted to exclude all employees age 18 and under from the minimum wage.
CASA DE MARYLAND: We need your urgent participation. Please call now the office of Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Reimer and ask to vote YES for the minimum wage increase to $11.50 an hour. To this moment, he has said that he would only increase it to $10.75 an hour. Please tell him that it would be unacceptable to vote for anything less than $11.50.
His contact information is: 240-777-7964 / councilmember.riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE TO CONTACT HIM. We need his vote to pass this bill.
Also, we will be holding a rally with CASA de Maryland and allies tomorrow at 12noon at the Montgomery County Council. We will proceed to the hearing room at 1:30pm to witness the vote. PLEASE COME SUPPORT. Flyer attached / CASA press statement below.
PRESS RELEASE
CASA de Maryland Urges Montgomery County Council to Increase the Minimum Wage to $11.50, Eliminate 90-Day Temporary Worker Restriction
"As we approach Tuesday’s vote in the Montgomery County Council to increase the minimum wage to $11.50 an hour by 2016, we remind people about the faces of low-wage workers who make our county move forward. Take the case of worker Wilfred Mokoko, he states:
For many years, I worked in a hotel making the minimum wage. At the start, the wages were fair, but as the cost of food, rent, electricity, and water increased I saw my wages were too low. Over the past few years here in Montgomery County, I have seen the Ride On Bus Fare increase from $1.20 to $1.35 to $1.70 and today it is $1.80. To many people these changes do not make a difference, but they matter to me. There are days I put $14 on my bus pass and I am shocked when it is empty before the end of the week. Some weeks, I spend more than $20 on bus transportation. Working people are suffering and we are looking to political leaders to bring relief to our community. If the cost of living rises then so must the wages that people need to survive.
"Increasing Wildfred’s hourly rate to $11.50 makes a significant difference to support his family. CASA de Maryland, the largest Latino and immigrant organization in the state, urges members of the Montgomery County Council to support the minimum wage increase to $11.50 an hour by 2016.
"At the same time, CASA strongly urges members of the County Council to eliminate the 90-Day provision that excludes temporary workers from obtaining the minimum wage increase. Day laborers and temporary/seasonal employees perform some of the most grueling work in the County and should not be paid less because of the short-term nature of their employment. All workers deserve to live in dignity and be able to afford to protect their families. No worker should be left behind."
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PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND: Riemer still waffling on $11.50 minimum wage with indexing, email now - Despite all the calls and emails to Councilmember Hans Riemer's office in support of a $11.50 minimum wage in Montgomery County that is indexed to inflation, Councilmember Riemer has still not assured his constituents that he will vote in favor of Bill 27-13. This is shameful. At-Large Councilmember Hans Riemer needs to hear from you right now. Tell Riemer to raise the minimum wage to $11.50 per hour and to index it with the cost of living. Anything less will put workers in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Washington, DC in jeopardy of not receiving the vital pay raise they are due.
Take 30 seconds to email Councilmember Hans Riemer right now. Let him know that you won't settle for anything less than $11.50 per hour with indexing. Make sure he knows that you won’t forget his vote at election time.
JEWS FOR JUSTICE: Call for a Higher Minimum Wage in Montgomery County, One more push to victory! - In the past two weeks more than sixty JUFJers have called Councilmember Hans Riemer asking him to support raising the minimum wage in the county to $11.50 by 2016. The pressure is starting to build - but we need to keep it up.
The bill passed out of committee on Thursday and will be voted on in the full Council on Tuesday, November 26th. Four Councilmembers have committed their support for the bill. We need to keep the pressure on to secure the fifth vote. The county is ready and our workers deserve a raise.
JUFJ and our allies will be keeping the phones ringing off the hooks in the County Council on Monday, November 25th to make sure this message is heard loud and clear.
Please sign up to call At-Large Councilmember Hans Riemer at (240) 777-7964.
PRESS RELEASE
Montgomery County Young Democrats Support $11.50 Minimum Wage Increase, Urge Council to Remove Youth and Temporary Worker Exemptions
Silver Spring, MD – The Montgomery County Young Democrats are urging the Montgomery County Council to vote favorably to increase the minimum wage to $11.50 an hour by 2016.
For member Gabriel Acevero, “The minimum wage is not just a story about income inequality, but rather it’s about achieving the American dream, and no one can achieve the American dream on $7.25 an hour.” Gabe is one of several members actively working on the state-wide campaign to raise the minimum wage, which the Young Democrats see as equally important to move the state forward economically and progressively as the County measure.
At the same time, MCYD is standing with organizations like CASA de Maryland in calling for the Council to eliminate the 90-Day provision that excludes temporary workers from obtaining the minimum wage increase. In addition, they are asking the County to remove the exemption for workers under 19 working less than 20 hours a week.
Board member Emily Shetty, who shared what raising the wage means personally to her at last Wednesday’s rally to raise the wage, states: “Above all, we want to see Bill 27-13 pass and change the lives of millions in the region when Prince George’s and DC pass similar bills. We do hope the Council will consider removing the temporary and youth workers exemptions. All workers in Montgomery County deserve the dignity of this higher wage.”
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BCC CHAMBER: For the past several weeks, the B-CC Chamber has been working with other chambers and business groups in Montgomery County to persuade Council members to delay consideration of Council member Elrich’s bill that would set the minimum wage in Montgomery County at $11.50 an hour that would be phased in over three years, beginning in July 2014 and indexed to increase with the consumer price index in future years. Based on a survey of businesses in the county, this increase is too much too fast and the indexing could result in a county minimum wage that is far higher than the state’s, unless the state legislature also passes a minimum wage tied to indexing. Yesterday, the County Council HHS Committee voted (2-0) in favor of Elrich’s bill, this despite the fact that the proponents’ own economists told them that $11.50 is too high. They did amend the bill to exempt teens age 18 and under working fewer than 20 hours per week and set the minimum wage for tipped employees at 50% of the County minimum wage. This bill will go to the full Council for a vote this Tuesday. IT WILL PASS – possibly unanimously — unless the business community is able to persuade some Council members to make some changes that would make it less burdensome for employers.
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| Cory McCray at left; Clarence Lam at right (photos from Facebook) |
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| Rep. Chris Van Hollen Speaks at MCDCC Ball |
GAZETTE: About 200 union members protested outside a Montgomery County Democratic Party fundraiser Saturday, asserting the party had strayed from progressive positions. The action skimmed off about 15 percent of its normal attendance....
“They’re losing a lot of friends in the Democratic Party who would want to be there for them for the next one and now they’re not so sure,” said Councilman Hans Riemer (D-At large) of Takoma Park.
“I think it’s creating a schism within the Democratic Party against labor,” said Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Bethesda....
Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee Chairman Gabe Albornoz said about 340 people attended the fundraiser.... he said the event raised about $45,000; he had expected $10,000 to $15,000 more....
“We wouldn’t be doing any worse with a couple of Republicans on the council, the way we’ve been treated the last four years. How could we do any worse?” former FOP president Marc Zifcak said....
County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said he believed some of the unions’ grievances were legitimate....
AFL-CIO: Do Real Democrats Cross Picket Lines? Heavy rain couldn’t stop the festive mood Saturday evening as labor activists from all over the DC metro area picketed the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) Spring Ball. Started in response to the MCDCC’s position last year in favor of the Question B referendum (MCDCC Ball Boycott/Picket Focus is Solidarity UC 5/10/2013) the protest brought together activists from UFCW 1994 MCGEO and Local 400, IAFF 1664, ATU 689, OPEIU 2, Progressive Maryland, and many more. Picketers held umbrellas over home-made signs, ringing bells and blowing whistles as they cheerfully chanted “Do Real Democrats Cross Picket Lines? NO!” The Montgomery County Young Democrats (MCYD) were at the center of the picket, proudly wearing their MCYD t-shirts as they boycotted the Ball.
“The future of the democratic movement is out here, not in there,” said Metro Council President Jos Williams, as activists gathered at the corner. Williams introduced MCYD President Dave Kunes, who passed up receiving the “Democrat of the Year” award at the Ball to boycott the event with many other MCYD members. “This isn’t about a single issue,” said Kunes to a cheering crowd. “You all out here – you are my party!” Music blasted from a band made up of AFM 161-710 members as Williams saluted the politicians who joined the picket. At press time, two politicians – County Executive candidate Phil Andrews and County Councilmember Hans Riemer – were seen having crossed the picket. “There’s no excuse for politicians going in there” said Williams. “We are sending a message. It will not be business as usual… 2014 starts today.”
JEFFREY SLAVIN: Dear President Kunes,
Please remove me from your list.
I am shocked and appalled that you joined the protest on Saturday night. You are supposed to be Democrats first! And your reasons for supporting the so-called "strike" make no sense. There are lots of young people in office in Montgomery County and no one is stopping any of you from running. The Central Committee does not make endorsements anyway and your group looked foolish.
I will not plan to attend any of your events until you have new leadership in place.
Thanks for considering my views. I have been speaking to many Democrats in the past few days and I can tell you that many others feel the same way.
Jeffrey Slavin
Mayor/Town of Somerset
2013 MCDCC Morgan-Jerney Community Service Awardee
cc: Maryland Juice
JOSH KURTZ (VIA CENTER MARYLAND): When I’ve been asked over the past several days what I think of the decision by Montgomery County public employee unions to picket the county Democratic Party’s annual spring ball the other night, all I can say is, “A plague on all their houses.”
In a way you have to admire the unions’ chutzpah, and their success in disrupting the spring ball, which nevertheless was about three-quarters full....
On the other hand, the self-righteous indignation of some of the Democratic stalwarts who decided to make a show of crossing the picket line was also a little stomach turning – along with their warnings that the sky was falling due to the labor-county party schism....
Perhaps the most unfortunate consequence of the brouhaha was that Dave Kunes did not get his moment in the sun. Kunes, the president of the Montgomery County Young Democrats, was supposed to be presented with the “Democrat of the Year” award at the dinner. But he did not hesitate to pull the Young Dems’ sponsorship of the spring ball when the unions cranked up their protest....
Kunes, who works as an aide to Del. Tom Hucker (D) during legislative sessions in Annapolis, doesn’t rule out a political career someday. But in his mind, there are more important battles to fight....
PHIL ANDREWS: It's no surprise that the Fraternal Order of Police is unhappy with the County Council (unanimous vote in favor), the County Executive, the County's Democratic Party (precinct officials voted 109-14 in favor), and the voters of Montgomery County (58 percent voted in favor, a margin of more than 60,000 votes). All supported eliminating the requirement in law that the Chief of Montgomery County Police bargain the effects of the exercise of all management decisions with the Fraternal Order of Police. No other County union has "effects bargaining" in law and the County Council was wise not to extend effects bargaining beyond its initial mistake in the 1980s of including it in the police collective bargaining law. As the chair of the Council's Public Safety Committee since 2000, my experience is that the effects bargaining provision prevented our County's police department from implementing policies in a timely manner to better protect both the public and police officers. The FOP disagrees and that is their right.
What is notable about the statements of those Democratic elected officials who say they will boycott the Montgomery County Democratic Spring Ball on May 11, as called for by the Washington Metropolitan AFL-CIO, is that none of the elected officials even attempt to defend the effects bargaining requirement that the County Council and the voters eliminated. Their statements essentially say, "If organized labor is against it, the Democratic Party should not be for it." That's what this boycott is about. Veto power. The public will be disturbed that so many elected public officials who are Democrats appear willing to cede the Democratic Party's independence to organized labor.
It's easy to understand why unions want a veto over public policy positions of the Democratic Party, but for elected officials, central committee members, and precinct officials to do so would be an abdication of responsibility to the people we represent -- the public. Public officials should support the positions of unions when they further the public interest (such as living wages which I led the battle for on the County Council, health care coverage, and workplace safety), and oppose the positions of unions when they conflict with the public interest (such as effects bargaining). If adhering to this approach costs the Democratic Party money from unions, that's the price of doing the right thing for the people we represent.
GEORGE LEVENTHAL: Dear Friends, I will be attending the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee’s (MCDCC) Spring Ball on Saturday, May 11. Several unions and some elected officials have announced they will boycott this event. I was MCDCC chairman from 1996 to 2001, and I know how hard the staff and precinct volunteers work to ensure a strong Democratic presence in Montgomery County. I have attended this event every year for 26 years, and I will not be swayed by the protest demonstration.
While I will attend the ball because my relationship with the county Democratic Party is a key part of my history, we should not dismiss out of the hand the protestors’ concerns as petulant. It is the job of leaders to listen to all sides, and try to bring people together.
Union members are understandably frustrated by an unprecedented fusillade of decisions that weakened their economic position and affected their family incomes. While some of these decisions were necessary in the midst of a deep recession, others may have appeared like political opportunism, egged on by The Washington Post editorial page. In 2010 and 2011, County Executive Leggett and the County Council restructured arbitration rules, revised disability benefits, abrogated contracts, increased health insurance and retirement premiums, repealed effects bargaining and some councilmembers even tried to prevent firefighters from raising money for muscular dystrophy research. In 2012, the council hired an attorney at public expense to purge the effects bargaining referendum from the ballot and County Executive Leggett used public funds to campaign against the referendum. To the unions, this barrage of anti-union legislation appeared like an overreach. While some political blowback should be expected, the unions are overreaching in response. They have the right to mount a protest but no right to decide for others who may attend the event.
Presidential historian Richard Neustadt relays an important story about the 1952 transition between Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower: "He'll sit here," Truman remarked (tapping his desk for emphasis), "and he'll say, 'Do this! Do that!' And nothing will happen. Poor Ike-it won't be a bit like the Army. He'll find it very frustrating."
An executive can issue orders, but can only achieve his or her goals by inspiring his or her workforce and earning its loyalty, and our county has an excellent workforce. These are the bus drivers, social workers, police officers and firefighters upon whose service we rely, and whose wages have stagnated. Over the last three years, these people gave up on average about $30,000 through pay freezes, larger contributions to health and retirement plans, and furloughs. The County also eliminated more than 10 percent of the workforce. These sacrifices saved $469 million over those four years, and they continue to save the County $154 million annually.
That’s why I thought it was reasonable to vote for new contracts for county employees that do not amount to double-digit increases in a single year, as has been misconstrued. After four years without raises, the contracts call for a 3.25% cost-of-living adjustment, step increases of 3.5% for eligible employees, and small retroactive step increases for police officers and career fire fighters. The total cost in 2014 is $32 million, still a $122 million savings to the county in that year alone.
The county makes budget decisions year by year. If economic circumstances worsen, when we examine the 2015 budget, we can make adjustments. I don’t feel that a social worker making $53,000 is undeserving of a raise amounting to $75 a week, or that a police officer doesn’t earn his or her $3,600 increase. These are the people who dutifully serve the residents of this county.
Labor and its allies are not only protesting anti-union decisions. Union leaders have told me that the protest is also against an unwarranted tax giveaway approved by the state legislature for Lockheed Martin and special expedited rezoning to allow a Walmart in Aspen Hill. Young Democrats are protesting longtime officeholders who treat their seats as an entitlement. They are unhappy about a sense that the party that they know and love is drifting from its principles. The elected officials who make these decisions do so in good conscience, pursuing their own vision of the public interest. But these same elected officials are accountable to the people who campaigned and voted for them, and the political blowback is not surprising.
With time, cooler heads will prevail. In the meantime, let’s all respect each other’s point of view, not draw lines in the sand over whether or not to attend a social event on Saturday night.
Please let me know if I can be of assistance to you in any way.
Cordially,
George
YOUNG DEMOCRATS OF MARYLAND: YDM President to join MoCo Picket Line Tomorrow - One of my most vivid memories as a kid was waking up early some mornings to join my dad on his bus route. He was a school bus driver and on the days childcare fell through, I was with him on the bus…big Joe and Little Joe. Those days helped developed my passion for education even before I was in school myself. Those mornings also helped introduce me to the labor movement. It was because of his union contract that my parents knew if babysitting didn’t work out I could ride the bus with dad. It was because of his contract my family had good health benefits. It was because of his contract that college was always within reach for me if I did my part. Labor has been a key foundation of my family and my life personally. It fundamentally is why I am a Democrat.
This weekend I hoped to join my friends and fellow young democrats to honor the President of the Montgomery County Young Democrats, Dave Kunes for all his hard work at the MCCDCC Spring Ball. He has done an outstanding job not only with MCYD but the entire Montgomery County Young Democrats. However news that the AFL-CIO has established a picket line of the event makes that impossible. The first lesson I learned from labor is to never cross a picket line, and it is a lesson I’ll honor this weekend.
The Democratic Party is a big tent but one of the strongest pillars holding that tent up is the labor movement and an unyielding belief in the right to collectively bargain. So instead of dressing up in a nice suit and going to a dinner party, I’ll have my marching shoes on standing with the men and women who help keep our community moving forward.
-Rev. Joseph Lynn Kitchen Jr.
President - Young Democrats of Maryland
AFL-CIO: Local 1994's Renne reports that the local has lined up live music, food and refreshments for the 5:30p picket, which continues to generate support, with UFCW Local 400 on board, as well as Maryland delegates Kumar Barve, Bonnie Cullison, Sheila Hixson, Shane Robinson, Luiz Simmons and Craig Zucker joining the boycott yesterday.
EMILY KOECHLIN: This situation has me very, very, distressed.
I have served as a precinct official with the Montgomery County Democrats for over ten years. I am one of the precinct officials who voted to recommend a YES vote on Question B in last November’s election. 109 out of 123 of us precinct officials present at the ballot initiatives meeting voted to endorse a YES on Question B.
I strongly support Labor. I am very concerned that collective bargaining has been weakened in so many ways throughout the US. However, at the precinct meeting last fall where we precinct officials voted for our positions on ballot initiatives, no proponents of the Police Union position demonstrated that supporting Question B would weaken Organized Labor. I did not walk into that meeting planning to vote against Labor’s position. However, once I heard the arguments pro and con, I voted in support of Question B because I felt I could not do otherwise. Montgomery County Police Chief Manger, as well as other police officials who testified, presented us with very strong, reasonable, arguments in favor of their position. Officials speaking for Labor provided us with pretty much no reason at all to support theirs.
109 out of 123 of us voted to endorse a YES on Question B. 109 out of 123 is 89%. Do you really think that 89% of your Democratic Party grassroots activists are anti-labor and that 89% of us want to “gut collective bargaining?”
Perhaps there were some very good reasons to vote NO on Question B. I would have loved to have heard them. However, no one testifying against the ballot initiative presented any such arguments. I would have been delighted to have voted to support Labor. However, I am not willing to show blind loyalty to anyone, even family or close friends.
I wish so much that those who are planning to carry anti-MCDCC signs and join the picket line Saturday night had been present to see what really happened at that meeting. In my opinion this action drives a wedge between organizations that all support the hardworking people in our County, our State and our Country. I want to keep unions strong (or make them strong again) in Maryland and in the US, but I think that this approach will not help in this effort, but rather turn people against unions.
Emily Koechlin
Takoma Park
Montgomery County Young Democrats November Membership Meeting
Election Wrap-Up, Thursday - 7:00pm until 8:30pm
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center
4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland 20814
We'll be analyzing the election results with local and state leaders at our November membership meeting. Moderator: Valeria Carranza
Panelists:
- Anne Kaiser, Montgomery County House Delegation Chair
- David Sloan, Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director
- David Moon, Maryland Juice
NORTH POTOMAC PATCH: After months of strategizing, Douglas M. Duncan has told supporters he has decided to run for an unprecedented fourth term in Montgomery County's highest political office, marking his return to politics after a six year-hiatus.
Duncan, 57, met privately yesterday morning with political advisers and supporters in Gaithersburg to discuss his run for county executive and weigh the results of a recent poll by Harrison Hickman.... Duncan told attendees that he would be entering the 2014 race, according to an email sent yesterday afternoon to supporters.
EXAMINER: Leggett told The Washington Examiner he might "reconsider" his 2010 position as community members and friends have been urging him to seek re-election.
"At this point, it's still no," he said. "But I'm going to think about it after Jan. 1."
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| Backside of T-shirt |
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| Ervin for Montgomery County T-Shirts |
ANONYMOUS SOURCE: There is sooooo much you're missing about what went down Friday night- this was a proxy fight between the progressives (Joanne Benson, SEIU, Wil Campos and Victor Ramirez) versus the old boys *corrupt* network (Camille Exum, al Wynn, Michael Vaughn and Carolyn Howard)- Arms were twisted, mud was thrown- they ALMOST prevailed by Terry Speigner taking the extraordinary step of VOTING for HIMSELF, but that one act was so offensive that one or two key people defected to our side and for once, the good guys won one !
WASHINGTON POST: Prince George’s County Democrats on Friday selected businessman Greg Hall to replace Tiffany Alston in the Maryland House of Delegates. Alston, a first-term Democrat, was suspended from the legislature last month after she was sentenced for misconduct in office....
Hall’s nomination by the 24-member Democratic Central Committee after voting Friday night requires the approval of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). The vote was 12 to 10, according to Terry Speigner, chairman of the committee, who said he was runner-up....
PRINCE GEORGE'S YOUNG DEMOCRATS: Good Evening Juice, As you may know Tiffany Alston, former MD Delegate representing the 24th legislative district, has been suspended from office after entering a plea agreement to settle two separate criminal cases. The Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee will make a formal recommendation to fill the vacant seat, to Governor Martin O'Mally, who will most likely confirm the recommendation. Greg Hall, a former Prince George's County Young Democrats President and a major supporter of ours is in the running -- And now PGCYD is supporting Greg Hall!
This isn’t Mr. Hall's first time seeking office. In November of 2010 he sought to represent the 24th legislative district as delegate and earned over 3,000 votes from the Prince George’s County populace. Mr. Hall came close to victory with a shy margin.Greg Hall is a community activist, an entrepreneur, and a devoted citizen focused on the success and growth of the 24th legislative district. Additionally, he’s worked with the environmental and business communities to identify new opportunities for economic growth in the district....
Respectfully,
Prince George's County Young Democrats Executive Board
McGinty's Public HouseVote at the Silver Spring Civic Center then join MCYD for our free early voting bash featuring a show by Gov. Martin O'Malley and his band O'Malley's March!
911 Ellsworth Dr
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
“We’re delighted -- as millions of Americans undoubtedly are -- with the news that our President supports civil marriage rights for all committed couples. He’s made history today, and he’s given same-sex couples and their children hope that they deserve and will someday be granted full protection under the law and the recognition that comes through marriage.
“His announcement is especially important to our coalition and to the thousands of couples and families in Maryland who are working to ensure the Civil Marriage Protection Act is upheld this November.
“The President’s words will no doubt inspire thousands more conversations around kitchen tables and in communities across our state. It’s a dialogue that is invaluable as Marylanders consider the issue of marriage equality. We are confident that those Marylanders who, like our President, have wrestled with the issue will come to understand as President Obama has, that marriage equality is rooted in basic fairness and strengthening all families.
“We are confident that the momentum in Maryland and our country will continue to build toward equality and we thank the President for so boldly leading us in that direction.”
President Obama: "I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.
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| Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown mingles with guests at the Jubilee roast of Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin. |
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| Moderator Evan Glass, David Moon (aka Juice), Kate Ryan, Josh Kurtz. |
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| MoCo Young Dems Officers with panelists and Councilmember Valerie Ervin. |
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| Recent U.S. House candidates Dave Lockwood and Robin Ficker chatting with Maryland Juice. |
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| Former Delegate Saqib Ali, Delegate Shane Robinson & MoCo Democrats discuss local politics. |
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| Board of Ed. District 2 candidate Rebecca Smondrowski chats with MCYD Secretary Nik Sushka. |
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| State Senator Jamie Raskin and MoCo Democratic Central Committee Member Marc Korman. |
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| MoCo attorneys at the ACS kickoff event. |
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| Maryland politicos are everywhere, apparently! Even at HoCo music festivals. |
...As the president travels to Colorado today to kick off a tour of college campuses to promote the extension of lower interest rates for student loans ... it’s worth re-examining what happened among young people in the 2008 election and whether he can re-create that magic in 2012.
The most common misconception about 2008 is that Obama grew the youth vote — defined for our purposes as those between 18 and 29 years old — by any significant measure as compared to past elections. He didn’t....
Young voters comprised 18 percent of the electorate in 2008, a one-point improvement from their share of the electorate in 2004, 2000 and 1996, but nowhere near the heights they reached in the 1980s.
What Obama did do — good grammar! — is win young voters by a far greater margin than any Democratic presidential nominee in modern times.
Again, we turn to a chart looking at the percentages the Democratic and Republican nominees won among 18-29-year-old voters:
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| Source: Washington Post, The Fix 4/24/12 |
Obama’s 34-point margin among young people was almost double the next best showing by a Democratic nominee; Bill Clinton won 18-29-year-old voters by 19 points in his sweeping 1996 reelection victory.
The youth turnout then was far less consequential to Obama’s victory than the consolidation of the 18-29-year-old vote behind his candidacy....
Polling provides a muddled picture of whether Obama can hope to recreate that sort of margin.
Obama’s favorable ratings among young people have fallen since 2009, but they have fallen less quickly and less precipitously than with other age groups.
